The Dream Factory hosted a bake sale fundraiser on Saturday to help out 15-year-old girl Emily Heape achieve her dreams.
Three years ago doctors diagnosed her with a brain tumour. She went through four rounds of chemo, 18 rounds of radiation and had to leave her community of The Pas to get treatment in Winnipeg for nearly five months.
The Factory is a charitable organization dedicated to fulfilling dreams for children who are battling life-threatening illnesses and has created cherished memories for over 700 families in Manitoba. The bake sale had a lineup of local bakeries such as Bronuts, Cottage Bakery and Oma’s Bake Shop that sold treats in support of Heape.
Heape said she chose a baking event because her mom loves to bake and so does her grandma.
“The dream factory is amazing. We met them shortly after Emily was diagnosed, they’re wonderful bunch of people that help kids in Manitoba grant their wish” said Anisa Eluik, Heape’s mother.
“We really like the idea of it being a small, Manitoban organization. You know, we live in small towns, so small towns rally together, so it’s wonderful.”
Fortunately, doctors were able to eradicate the tumour, but her journey is far from over. The tumour left her with cognitive and visual impairments and other health issues that will impact her daily life forever. Her dream is to one day visit Australia and the Dream factory is trying to make that a reality.
Heape said she has family in the land down under that she would like to visit and she also wants to see a kangaroo at the zoo there.
The event was held at Greencrest Pharmacy and featured several children’s activities like face painting and cookie decorating. Earlier in the day the fundraiser was already at it’s $10,000 goal.
“The story just touched our hearts we love giving back to the community and we’re just so fortunate to be able to have an opportunity to work with them and have the family out today and hopefully make her dream come true,” said Debra Chartier, Greencrest Pharmacy.